Sports

Broncos' Fox shows his tough side

Coach was back on sidelines four weeks after heart surgery

Broncos head coach John Fox talks with players as they stretch during practice on Friday in Florham Park, N.J. (Mark Humphrey / AP)

NEW YORK — — For hearts and brains, football is Rushin' Roulette. It's a gamble just to show up to work, be it running backs or blitzers rushing into brick-wall linemen, or coaches, seized by stress on every play. But these men embrace it, live it, cherish it, because football is life, until life becomes life.

"When you've been doing this for so long, and something takes that away from you for a period of time, it gives you a true appreciation of what you get an opportunity to do everyday," said Gary Kubiak, who was the Broncos offensive coordinator for two Super Bowl victories and suffered a mini-stroke this season as the coach of the Houston Texans. "I know for me, it's made me take a step back, take care of yourself and really enjoy what you're doing. It's fun to compete everyday, it's very demanding, but I think we enjoy that or we wouldn't do that. But when something happens to you, it puts a different perspective on what's going on."

Which leads us to John Fox — the gruff, guffawing coach of the Broncos - who too has a sharper perspective on life and football these days. Fox has learned they sometimes aren't the same thing. The same weekend that Kubiak collapsed mid-game, Fox collapsed on a golf course in North Carolina. Fox survived open heart surgery, missed four games and returned to work, leading Denver to Sunday's Super Bowl.

"(It was) how fast I could get back to normalcy — that is coaching for me," Fox said Friday at a Super Bowl news conference with Pete Carroll, coach of the Seattle Seahawks. "Really, it was like a sprained ankle. It was going to be four weeks. ... I feel 150 percent better. I had a valve that was probably the opening the size of a pinhead — now, it's a 50-cent piece. Just from a feeling good standpoint, I feel way, way, way better than I did two months ago. I never really gave it a second thought about coming back not being an option, or returning to coaching being an option. It's worked out pretty well."

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"What a stud," Carroll chimed in. "He's comparing an open-heart surgery and being on his back to an ankle sprain. Congratulations on that. That's really amazing. Come on John, that's awesome."

Fox's resilience, really, is a microcosm of the Broncos season. Injuries and surgeries and DUIs and suspensions marred Denver's run, but never derailed it. Much of the credit goes to the godfather, the raspy-voiced coach who set the tone for the Broncos. "Next man up" isn't a mantra; it's a lifestyle. And the 58-year old splashes his persona upon everything orange, be it his football mind in meetings or his personality in the locker room.

"I knew with Coach Fox that he'd fight through it and come back even more energetic," defensive tackle Terrance Knighton said. "He's just a ball of energy. Always in the locker room, hanging out with my teammates and me. He's always joking, almost like one of the players in the locker room — he's not one of those coaches who walks into the locker room and then everyone gets quiet. He's right in the thick of things with us — he has that perfect balance of having fun with guys and getting down to business. When he flips the switch, it's easy for us to do the same thing. ... And it's almost like having two defensive coordinators."

Jack Del Rio was at his home in the Garden District of New Orleans, enjoying a well-deserved escape. It was Denver's bye week when "I started getting texts: Is coach Fox OK? Is coach Fox OK? So that's when I texted him," said Del Rio, Denver's defensive coordinator. "And he shoots back, 'Everything's good, just have to get a couple tests done.' He like totally downplayed it. And then the next day he's like, 'Well, I might have to have a procedure done.' John told me that John Elway would be calling."

Del Rio served as the interim coach, going 3-1, keeping the Broncos afloat. For him, the moment that sticks with his was, fittingly, Thanksgiving.

"He had come back into town, and he wasn't really allowed to return to work," Del Rio said, "but I said, 'If you're in town, please come over and see us, otherwise we're all going to be driving to your house, 50 cars piled up. Guys would love to see you, I would love to see you.' So he came over to Dove Valley, just to say hello after practice. He didn't want to be a distraction, he just wanted to say, 'Hey I'm going to be fine, you guys are doing great.' Everybody got to hug him.

"It's pretty remarkable, really, to think that you have open-heart surgery, have your chest cracked open and your heart worked on, and be back at work as quickly as he did. And really not just walk in the building and be there, but come back and be the John Fox he was before — just a little thinner."

Indeed, Foxy's lookin' good. He's dropped over 10 pounds, as if he knew he'd be in the nation's spotlight for Super Bowl week. He still has that Bob Uecker face and quick wit. And now, after the fight of his life, he'll have the biggest fight of his football life. He out-coached the legend Bill Belichick in the AFC championship game, and now he'll face the veteran Carroll in Sunday's Super Bowl.

"What a tremendous story with John, finishing up this Sunday with a chance to win a championship," Kubiak said. "That's why we do what we do. John's a good friend, I'm very proud of him, glad he's doing well."

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